


in this world, he who stops, won't get anything he wants

by magicinourfingertips



Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Fluff and Angst, Multi, basically lotor is a good guy and is just struggling to find his way with life, ezor is the cat, kova is a drug dealer and narti is alive, lotor owns a cat, no beta we die like men, slowburn, will persistently change from texting to actual fic
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-06-18
Updated: 2019-09-13
Packaged: 2020-05-14 02:57:30
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 5
Words: 3,906
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19264546
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/magicinourfingertips/pseuds/magicinourfingertips
Summary: Lotor: what do you mean againZethrid: narti’s ballet shoesZethrid: my couchZethrid: ax’s chef hatAcxa: Don’t call me that.Zethrid: and some homeless guys’ mittensLotor: point taken





	1. come get ezor out of my oven

**Author's Note:**

> Basically the 'lotor owns a pet cat named ezor and it keeps running into other peoples houses' au that no one asked for. Features alive!Narti, drug dealer!Kova and a lot of shenanigans. In no way canon-compliant. 
> 
> This is my first fic here and I have no idea how to tag stuff. Please understand if there are mistakes. 
> 
> Title is taken from the lyrics of Fire, sung by Gavin Degraw.

_**Acxa** added **Lotor** , **Narti** , **Kova** , **Zethrid** and **Narti** to the chat_

_**Acxa** named the chat **Come get Ezor out of my oven**_

Lotor: shit

Acxa: Shit is right

Acxa: Your cat is sitting inside my oven, thankfully not overheating or eating one of the tarts I was baking for myself

Zethrid: again??? 

Lotor: what do you mean again

Zethrid: narti’s ballet shoes

Zethrid: my couch

Zethrid: ax’s chef hat

Acxa: Don’t call me that.

Zethrid: and some homeless guys’ mittens

Lotor: point taken

Kova: hfsdou ave ytou thousght of getting a lkeasfh for it

_**Kova** changed his nickname to **kova**_

Narti: … 

Lotor: that’s edgy

Lotor: i’m surprised that you can even type something in complete sentences

kova: tthis is beyooodnd comphrehension i requirewh a driink

Zethrid: you do a lot of that these days

Lotor: you really do

Narti: ill watch him

Acxa: @Lotor Just get your cat before it roasts in my oven. I don’t want to have to call Krolia for cleanups before my next shift.

Lotor: aight

Zethrid: anyone up for movies @ 7pm, 2B?

Acxa: I thought 2B was vacant? Did your mom try to sell it to someone again?

Zethrid: its been vacant until this mullet hunk walked in

Acxa: Mullet hunk?

Narti: who wears a mullet anymore

Lotor: ^^^^

Zethird: at least he wears it well

Zethrid: usually idgaf about our neighbours but this dude seems nice, he invited me over and i might’ve told him that the entire apartment building are old friends

Narti: n then he asked to hang?

Zethrid: told me to invite everyone lmao

Narti: noice

Acxa: I’d love to go

Acxa: @Lotor don’t scare him off

kova: sdoeant scare bhim off

Zethrid: yeah what he said

Lotor: fuck off

Lotor: this isn’t like last time

Zethrid: last time??

Lotor: sendak

Zethrid: who??

Acxa: I hope the fuck not. He almost stepped on one of the cats in our cafe when he was trying to kiss you.

Acxa: If you ever see him again just call me and I’ll cut him.

Zethrid: he sounds like a creep 

Zethrid: i’ll hurl kindergarten toys at him if i ever see him eyeing my kids

kova: faijghr enewough

Zethrid: are you guys still in on the movie night

Narti: might hv 2 ask kova but ill b there if hes ok

Acxa: Hell yeah. I’m in.

Lotor: yeah count me in

Lotor: i’ll come and get her now

Acxa: Thanks.

Narti: c u soon

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This fic will be updated weekly. I don't really have a steady schedule to provide for posting but I will try to update it often. Kudos and comments are appreciated.


	2. you gotta do the cooking by the book

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Lotor nudged her side good-heartedly and she nudged back, shoving him into the cupboard with a smirk of her own. “A kitten? How you wound me so! Ezor’s at least three years old by now!” 
> 
> “Still a kitten to me. I’ll buy you that Kogane album you like so much if you keep a close eye on your cat.”
> 
> "I can't watch her every minu- Oof! Hey, that hurt!"
> 
> "Serves you right."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Can't believe I hit the 2nd chapter without realizing it. I'd like to take the time to thank the peeps in the discord where this idea was born- especially Aaron, thanks for brainstorming the deets with me. Ya'll are an inspiration and you make me happy enough to keep writing.
> 
> If you get the title reference, congratulations. You're an all star.

_Oriande_ , the apartment that Lotor currently lived in, stood on the west street of what his mother Honerva usually called Galran territory. She had a very strange name-calling habit, as most of his known relatives were nicknamed as Galras and most of them seemed quite uncomfortable when referred to as such, so he always assumed it was more of a family rivalry thing. 

According to urban legends- she had foreseen the demolition that was coming for the previous building and swooped down to the rescue, buying off a handfuls’ worth of lands and re-establishing apartments and condos for rent. Most of the people that were associated with the building were members of his father’s real estate company and the demographic of renters were college students and business owners.

Lotor had his foot stubbed into both of those categories. He recently graduated from the local college with high honors, a bachelor degree in the baking and pastry arts section. After awarded second place in a baking competition with a fellow graduate, they decided to use the money granted to them to open up a cat-cafe themed patisserie, hopefully with promising food ratings. Acxa loved her job as the head pastry chef and while Lotor was adequate with his skills, he had a prettier face and seemed better for promotional material. Hence, he became the patisserie first waiter.

The patisserie was close to the apartment, merely a few blocks away. It was a perfect lifestyle for now.

Speaking of now… Right. 

Ezor, his eccentric ginger cat, had _once again_ ventured into his chef’s apartment while she had been minding her own business. 

Acquiring the cat had been a wild tale on it’s own. He had been coming home from the patisserie one night and heard some strange growling sounds coming from his bag. It wasn't a far-fetched idea but sometimes he would leave his bag open in the storage room and cats from the patisserie would leap in for a nap. Maybe one of the cats snuck in by accident? Carefully unzipping the bag, Lotor prepared himself to be greeted by the sight of a familiar sneaky bright orange cat that Acxa nicknamed Coran, but instead he found himself staring at a.. cat with twin tails, glowing yellow eyes and two sharp canines. It hissed at him, fur fluffed up to make it appear larger than its original size. Most people would have ran away by now, but with a pang in his cold, dark heart, Lotor realized that the cat was probably just scared. He reached out and slowly ruffled its fur with his hand, keeping his gaze soft on its back. "It's alright," He murmured, a finger scratching behind its ears. The cat momentarily flopped to the ground and purred, closing its eyes in bliss as Lotor heaved a sigh. At least this cat was cute. "I'll name you Ezor, an eccentric name my mother loved. You can follow me home." The cat- now appropriately named Ezor- nodded and leaped up onto his back. That was how he ended up carrying a bundle of strawberry blonde fur into his apartment, alongside with an alarming amount of cat food and related accessories.

He reached for his phone as soon as he got to Acxa's room, pounding the door with his other hand. He briefly heard an array of clangs and muttered curses before seeing a head of short purple hair emerge from view. Directly behind her was the exact oven Ezor hid in, and even from the doorway Lotor could see his pet's cheeky cat-smirk.

Before he managed to even say a word, Acxa grumbled and pushed him into the kitchen, flinging her dusty apron right into his arms. She yanked open the oven door and wordlessly shoved the grinning cat back at his feet.

"Control your cat," She snapped as she hauled a tray full of treats into the now vacant space and fiddled with the oven controls. "I can't stand her when she gets in my way. Not everyone can relax with a furry purring in an industrial fireplace."

Lotor nudged her side good-heartedly and she nudged back, shoving him into the cupboard with a smirk of her own. “A kitten? How you wound me so! Ezor’s at least three years old by now!” 

“Still a kitten to me. I’ll buy you that Kogane album you like so much if you keep a close eye on your cat.”

"I can't watch her every minu- Oof! Hey, that hurt!"

"Serves you right." 

Small hands reached for the butter and stowed the ingredients back into its rightful place. A pair of unimpressed eyes stares him down and he couldn't help himself as he chuckled, earning another nudge to his ribs. 

Acxa sipped at her mug of coffee as Lotor hung the apron up. "Garret called in to replace today's shift. Said he owed me a break from the mess his group of ragtag friends caused at the cafe last week."

"Oh?" Hunk Garret was a barista they had decided to hire at the patisserie a month ago. He proved himself to be quite the underestimated fellow. He fluidly spoke the language of pastries and fancy drinks and managed to pull up the ratings from 4 to a full 5 stars, so Lotor saw to it that he was announced a regular staff member. The only downfall to this excellent member of staff was his choice of friends- a girl with loony-shaped glasses and a copper-skinned hottie, as they tended to scare away the majority of the cats. Lotor had to stay behind after their visit to personally to make sure they were comfortable, but since that also involved playing with them he didn't really mind it. 

_Huh. Guess Acxa didn't see it that way._

He leaned against the fridge, dusting his shirt off. "Did you say yes?"

"I- Yeah, I did." She said, shrugging, though Lotor could a ghost of a smile tugging past her lips as she spoke hesitantly. "I missed hanging out with, oh you know, the cool kids?"

He beamed happily. Both him and Acxa hadn’t been able to attend many of Zethrid’s promptu hangout sessions due to busy shifts at the cat cafe so this was a big event for both of them. It had been more than two months since they last had time to spend with friends. This was a well needed refresher.

“Well, are you going to just stand there? We have a guest to meet and I really don’t want to be late.”

“No- I’m coming, geez. Wait up!” As he followed Acxa out of the door, excitement bubbled against his chest and he adjusted his button up, hoping his new neighbour would not chastise him for looking like a hot mess.

Zethrid was already waiting at the assigned address by the time they arrived. Narti and Kova were huddled closely together, the latter watching Narti beat what seemed like the newest game on the market.

The door opened and the owner appeared. He seemed tired, like he had just used up all of his strength to fix his shirt and jeans before answering the door. Nevertheless, he looked absolutely breathtaking with sunken violet eyes, musselled black hair and a genuine smile.

"Hey Zethrid- guys, you can come in. Sorry for the short notice."

Zethrid and the others waved back and started to pile into the room, but Lotor felt his legs glued onto the ground. 

This.. this wasn’t how he thought he would meet his idol.

“You’re, you’re _the_ Kogane?!”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This fic will be updated weekly from now on, expect a new chapter coming out every Sunday. Kudos and comments are appreciated.


	3. don't kiss that hoe he nasty

Normally, Keith didn’t expect people milling at his door. He expected it with the cost of fame.

The music career that he started under the name ‘Kogane’ had originally been a one time gig. 

Ever since they graduated highschool, Shiro had been asking to hang out with him for a long time. Unfortunately, Keith couldn’t just walk away from the tremendous amount of rehearsals that his dance program had, so he had no choice but to push those invitations away. So when he was finally free from the tendrils that held his close college schedules together, he complied to meeting up at his best friend’s dorm for an hour of karaoke. Karaoke turned into consecutive days of jamming together, filming their process and updating videos onto their respective social media accounts. Soon enough, a big youtuber began knocking down their door for collaboration opportunities. Not wanting to make Shiro much more busier than he already was, Keith turned down his offer of managing the youtube channel himself- but often sent him in progress videos as updates.

Back at the old apartment he shared with Lance for college, a lot of girls would openly stalk the dorm door, expecting a ‘friendly’ face to pop out of the room and give them the romance and recognition they deserved. Some guys started to put up their favourite posters from his albums on the bulletin board on their floor.

It was crazy.

He didn't like how evasive some parts of his fandom acted and often called them out on his instagram accounts, leading to raising amounts of complaints and arguments- which he didn’t appreciate as well, but at least the discourse between his fans and others were gaining attention, which meant sales would occasionally rise or the point would eventually get through.

He had moved out of his dorm in search for a bigger place to create music. By chance, _Oriande_ had a cheap rent that he could afford while having the space he needed to store all of his acoustic mixers, microphones and monitors, so he took the offer.

Fans milling outside his door was a norm by now. He got used to it after a long time and even stopped by to surprise his old fans at his old dorm. It was a miracle nobody found out where he now lived.

However, his current situation- This was entirely a different matter.

All of what he assumed was his new neighbours stood at his door with absolutely no recognition in their eyes (except for the male that called him out), had wanted to get to know him better. Zethrid, the lovely lady that lived across from his house, had even arranged a get-to-know-everyone activity.

He felt included for once in his life. It felt amazing.

Adjusting his hair, he was ready to thank Zethrid when someone called his name.

* * *

The moment after he spoke, he instantly regretted it.

Lotor was never one for calling people out on the streets. He never really recognized celebrities in and out of the virtual social media worlds unless he was a big fan of them. All his friends knew about this fact and often teased him for being ignorant- which made the situation worse. Acxa openly sniggered into her open palm. Narti and Kova didn’t really look up from their gameplay, but he was sure he would get a buzzing amount of teasing remarks from Kova soon. The phone in his pocket vibrated soon enough and he groaned placing his head into his hands.

Zethird let out a big sigh, turning to smack him. “Lotor, shut up. You’re scaring him.” 

Lotor turned, rubbed the spot where Zethrid hit him. A wave of embarrassment peaked and almost crashed him over. On the other hand, Kogane seemed to harbour an expression of amusement and annoyance. Lotor did not blame him.

 _Stars_ , embarrassment forbid, _Kogane was so much hotter in person._

After a long moment of awkward consideration, Kogane opened the door slightly wider, practically leaping forward to tug him and the others through the door. His previous mixed emotions were gone from his expression, as if they had dissipated from the wind. “Quit standing outside, you lot and get in. I hope Tangled is an appropriate choice of movie, although karaoke won’t be a bad choice of activity.”

Narti looked up instantly at the mention of karaoke and Acxa laughed genuinely. 

Even his cat seemed to be on board with the decision to move on. Following in his lead and weaving between all the standing humans had got to be a huge challenge. Ezor swung her head from the right side as it she was observing how he seemed to suddenly clam up. She headbutted Zethrid’s leg a few times, but the large bodied woman seemed to be lost in thought. Lotor allowed a small but awkward smile to be shown as he ambled into the room. 

“I have a few cans of soda and beer in the fridge, you can help yourselves. There’s fruit and chips at the bar.” Kogane said, gesturing to the kitchen bar. Almost everyone except for Lotor walked in that direction and he laughed, earning a raised eyebrow by the owner of the house.

He coughed, turning to further explore the room.

To his utmost surprise, Kogane’s space wasn’t as organized or limited as he thought. 

The small studio apartment looked as lived in as it was supposed to be. A wide kitchen bar was spread across one half, food and cups hazapardly stacked everywhere. A cup of steaming coffee sat at the edge of the counter and Narti immediately reached out to push it back. Bar stools lined the edge of the bar and the low lights illuminated huey shapes on the wall. There was a fridge, some cupboards and a stove to the side, but that was it. 

A circular queen-sized bed sat in the middle of the bar and living room. The sheets were maroon colored, clearly freshly laundered from the smell. Two fluffy pillows laid on top of it.

At the other side of the room, guitars were not-so-neatly stacked against the electronic piano, scribbled and scrunched up sheet music littered everywhere on the ground but most were around the piano. There was a neater stack of papers and magazine at the coffee table and couches, a smaller upscale TV hanging off the wall. The bookcases nearby were in similar states of a mess, but in a way it was organized. 

“Wow, how can you even work in this condition?” Acxa blurted out once she finished checking out the kitchen bar area, looking extremely disgusted at the mess.

Lotor didn’t have a heart to correct her, but flinched at how judgemental she sounded. He was almost about to open his mouth and apologize when Kogane followed his own curious gaze and shrugged, looking mildly nonchalant about the mess he had in the corner of the living room area as he answered her question. “I can still find my music sheets but all my super fans know that I work by ear a lot.”

A not-so-subtle wink was tossed in his direction. Lotor huffed in response and crossed his hands.

Kova emerged from the bar area, sipping his beer. He didn’t look too impressed with Kogane- in fact, he seemed a lot on the fence, something about his vibes ‘not following with the rhythm’ or something. He sat the furthest away from Kogane, not bothering to care about discretion as he glared him down.

Uncomfortably twitching, Lotor turned to Kogane with an apologetic smile. “Tangled sounds great.”

The sound of Kogane fixing up the requested movie and Acxa’s special popcorn working her magic in the microwave was calming for the tense situation. It eased his thoughts as the crew slowly gathered around the couch, squished side to side (with the exception of Kova weaseling his way to sit on the ground, claiming he didn’t like cushioned seats). Kogane made his way over to sit next to Lotor as the movie started, but all was right for once.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for missing a deadline, there was a power outage and I wasn't able to update because of that reason. As of this chapter, I will be steadily updating every sunday night in PHT time. 
> 
> Kudos and comments very much appreciated!


	4. if life was a movie, then it wouldn't end like this

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sometimes, it only takes a (texting) conversation to spark interest.

The movie started out alright. Everyone sat around the couch, bunched uncomfortably together like pieces of an unfinished puzzle, but in the end it worked. Keith had his right arm slung loosely around Lotor's shoulder as Zethrid huddled closely to Kova, occasionally whispering to him. Narti was looped under Lotor's other arm, Acxa lying comfortably across their laps. Occasionally Ezor snored out loud, scaring one member of their lump as others were lulled in a false sense of security.

In the middle of the scene where Rapunzel was on a boat singing to Eugene, Lotor got up and excused himself to the washroom. He tiptoed around a sleeping Kova, who looked more at peace than he usually was.

Clicking the door shut and taking out his phone, Lotor stared at the blank screen of their chatroom. His fingers itched to type a few words to rouse the others into talking, but fear stopped him. What if he affected the atmosphere by talking?

To his surprise, an unknown number appeared in the typing area. 

Unknown: hey  
Unknown: you taking a shit in there?

A squeal escaped his lips. It must have been Kogane, otherwise who else will be texting him at this time when everyone was asleep?

Lotor: no u 

Unknown: no need to be rude  
Unknown: im keith

Lotor, with shaky thumbs, quickly saved his number down as Emogane.

Emogane: i hope you saved me down with a nice name. wouldn't want you to save me as your waifu or some nerdy shit that narti might spew out

Oh no he didn't. 

Lotor: How do you know she's nerdy?

Emogane: sounds like her  
Emogane: i have a firend like her, short with glasses  
Emogane: *friend

Lotor: I thought you were going to insult her or something.

Emogane: in this house i learnt to respect nerds

Lotor: Huh.

It was until then that Lotor realized that he was still unconsciously using capital letters to talk to Kogane. A blush started to heat up on his cheeks as he fumbled with putting his phone into his pocket. It took him quite a while to unlock the door and by then he had came across Kogane, who seemed like he had been waiting for quite a while.

"I'm sorry," He started. 

He watched as Kogane held up his hand and went into the washroom, silently closing the door.

Something plummeted in his chest and he gloomily picked his way back to the couch. Acxa and Narti were asleep by then and the ending credits were rolling. Zethrid, standing in the doorway, waved goodbye and exited out the door in quiet steps.

Plopping down, Lotor was about to take his things and go when his phone vibrated. 

**1 new message**  
Emogane: you want to get lunch with me tomorrow?

Lotor: Sure!

Emogane: i heard there's this cool bakery cafe nearby. should be called cafe altea  
Emogane: meet u there at one?

Lotor gulped. That was where he worked.

Lotor: sure

_This was going to be one hell of a lunch._


	5. wet_spaghet.jpg

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Acxa: Who fucking put a bowl of uncooked spaghetti on my counter.
> 
> Acxa: @Lotor You’re grounded.

**Lotor** added **Kogane** to **Come get Ezor out of my oven**

Acxa: Who fucking put a bowl of uncooked spaghetti on my counter.

Acxa: @Lotor You’re grounded.

Lotor: what do you mean im grounded

Acxa: You know what i mean

Kogane: lmao 

Zethrid: who put a what now

Acxa sent **wet_spaghet.jpg**

kova: disgusting

Zethrid: sounds about right

Lotor: @Kogane welcome to the chat

Zethrid: this is the chaos chat

Kogane: how chaotic are we talking?

Zethrid: we add everyone living in this building into the chat

Kogane: sounds fun

Kogane: you guys sound like a close bunch

Lotor: We are.

Acxa: You know what’s worse than cleaning the bowl of wet noodles? Having cats trying to paw it off the table.

Acxa: It’s a fucking nightmare.

Lotor: Is Coran at it again?  
Acxa: Not just Coran. Looks like Ezor joined the fray.

Lotor: …

Lotor: Remind me to lock my house door.

Acxa: You better fucking get your sopping wet noodles out of here before I stop you from working at my cafe.

Lotor: Gotcha. Bad prank.

Acxa: b i t c h

Kogane: oi

Kogane: don’t be late for our lunch if you have work

Narti: ooo

Lotor: narti no

Narti: lunch my ass

Lotor: nARTI

Narti: is it a date?

Kogane: if you want it to be ;)

Lotor: fuck my life

Kogane: @Lotor are you in or nahh

Kogane: or are you a pussy?

Lotor: I already said yes yesterday.

Acxa: … Is this why you asked me for a day off?

Lotor: What

Lotor: No!!! I had errands today, I swear.

Acxa: l i a r

Narti: liar

Zethrid: liar

kova: lw iar

Lotor: point taken, not acCEPTED.

Kogane: you work together?

Acxa: Yeah, at Cafe Altea.

Kogane: hmm

Kogane: errands huh

Lotor: yyes

Lotor: sorry acxa

Zethrid: kissass

Lotor: shut up!!!

Acxa: Enjoy your fucking date. Remember to leave some meat out tonight, Coran’s getting slimmer. 

Lotor: yeah

Kogane: Who’s Coran?

Lotor: one of the cats, you’ll meet him later. there’s also ezor, she’s a sweet baby but she keeps going into places where she doesn’t belong.

Narti: you mean your misbehaving lil shit of a cat?

kova: that was,, a low blow,,

Narti: had to do it to them

Kova: trjue

Kogane: sweet guy who works at a cafe? 

Kogane: I’m getting lucky.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Have been busy with school. No update schedule will be out, now I update whenever I'm free.


End file.
